Yellowire at The Musician, Leicester

The first support act this evening is Prash Gor, a solo singer/songwriter. For a quiet, unassuming looking guy, Prash has an unexpected voice - fragile and dusky, but surprisingly pure and clear when he lets rip - kind of like the atmosphere of Elbow with the delivery and dynamics of Bryn Christopher. His set tonight revolves around simple, bittersweet love songs with a soulful edge, and comes as a pleasant surprise.

Local indie rock lads The Fazed are up next, and they're going flat out from the start. Their sound is solid Brit rock, but nods towards all sorts of diverse influences - there's a touch of early madchester a la The Real People and even hints of 'Document' era REM, but the overall impression is slick and focused. The rhythm section are tight and compelling without dominating, and there's a noticeable amount of musical complexity played such that it reinforces the music rather than becoming obvious and taking over. The lads generate a huge feelgood atmosphere that's hard to resist, and when they round the night off with a storming cover of Jefferson Airhead's 'Somebody to Love' it's like the Stones and the Jam teaming up and cutting loose in a glam rock drinking den. Highly recommended.

Headliners Yellowire take a different tangent. Rather than upfront and rocking, they capture a sort of 'road movie along Route 66 in a camper van' vibe - smooth, melodic and driven, but not afraid to wind it down a notch and kick back. Despite sparks of interest all across the UK the band seem to have a spiritual affiliation to the great alt-country scene in the US, circling the ballpark of Band of Horses and The Walkabouts whilst keeping their British overtones of refined melody and lyrical subtlety. There's a effortlessly relaxed looseness to their sound, a fine balance of sparkle and dirt that's intoxicating. Tonight they run the whole spectrum from emotive alt-rock to reflective ballads with a sense of dedication and soul that never fades. From gentle and reflective to fireworks-in-the-sky uplifting, Yellowire send out warm, inviting waves of pure heart that you should experience for yourselves as soon as you can.

Photos by Rachel Palmer

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